We are requesting funds to help defray the costs of travel, room, board and registration for participants and attendees at the sixth Gordon Conference on Staphylococcal diseases to be held at II Ciocco, Barga, Italy from May 9 through May 13, 1999. There will be nine scientific sessions held over five days on biology of both Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci with topics including virulence and virulence factors, animal models of staphylococcal infection, S. aureus autolysins, therapeutics, vancomycin resistance, methicillin resistance, genomics, gene regulation, immunity and vaccine development. There will be daily poster sessions with a special session for oral presentations by young investigators of the best posters. The conference will be of interest to basic researchers, clinical researchers and scientists in industry who are involved in the study of staphylococci, staphylococcal infections and virulence of gram-positive cocci for humans. Support generated from this proposal will be used to defray costs for young investigators and trainees who might otherwise be unable to attend. This is particularly important for investigators from the United States who may have difficulty raising funds for a European meeting. Based on past experience the meeting will have broad international representation with more than half of the speakers, discussion leaders, and attendees from countries in Europe, Japan, and Australia. This will afford a unique and rich opportunity for fellowship and scientific exchange for young and established investigators in the field.